The Games Through a Career
by HGaddict
Summary: Avani Relai is a Career, sort of. Her parents don't give a crap about her, so ever since she was 12 she's been determind to win the Hunger Games. But how is she suppose to kill her district mate, Fray Silvester, when they used to be best friends?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a tragedy story, it's not going to make you smile and sigh happily. My point of this story is to point out the cruelty of the Capitol. This story is not going to have a happy ending. But I am going to make another Hunger Games based story soon that won't be as sad :)**

The Games through a Career

Chapter 1

"Avani Relai!" Ceirus Hockle, our district director, calls my name. I've prepared myself for this moment for 6 years, so I don't understand why I'm shaking. I'm a Career, and Careers aren't supposed to be afraid. I put on the sly grin that makes people think I've stolen something. My sleek black hair falls into my face and I quickly brush it to the side. I want to make sure my parents see how eager I am, how determined I am to win the Hunger Games.

Once I'm on stage, Ceirus walks over to the glass ball with the boy's names. I don't hear whoever Ceirus calls out for; I'm too busy looking for my parents. My parents are in love with the Hunger Games. Both he and mother think I'll never amount to anything, that I'm unwilling and unable to do anything right. They don't give a crap about me, so I figured that if I trained and entered the Hunger Games, that maybe they might notice me.

But all dad does is snort and roll his eyes. He starts mumbling to another person and laughs at me. I search the crowd for my mom, but she's too busy making bets about who will die first, me or the other tribute. Does she even know that I'm a tribute? I swear, if I murdered someone, was talked about for years, committed suicide, and was talked about for years after that, they might, while on their deathbed, think _Didn't we use to have a daughter?_

This infuriates me, and I glare at the crowd. My gaze said that if anyone volunteered to take my place, I would personally strangle them to death if they won the Hunger Games. No one was going to steal this from me. I was still shaking, but I interpreted it as excitement for the days to come.

"Our tributes, Avani Relai and Fray Silvester!" I snapped back into reality when I heard his name. Fray Silvester. No, no he can't be the other tribute. I can't kill him. Maybe they got the name wrong. Yeah, ok. Ceirus is about to announce he mispronounced the name and... no. When I glance to the side, I see that Fray really has been picked. He gives me a sorrowful look, then an angry scowl.

No one comes to visit me in the Justice building, so I have plenty of time to think about Fray. My mind wanders to my first reaping day, where I finally got the idea of becoming a Career. I was so excited that there was now a chance my parents might actually be proud of me that I ran to tell my best friend. Except he wasn't so thrilled with the idea.

In fact, I had never seen him so pissed.

"So you're going to train yourself to kill innocent people, and possibly get killed yourself?" He yelled at me. I was in too much shock that he wasn't excited by it that I couldn't reply.

"You're only thinking of yourself! Look, I'm sorry that your parents don't pay attention to you but you have other friends and family that DO! There's 1/24 chance you'll win and 23/24 chance you'll be MURDERED!" Now I was mad. Its not like I wasn't going to _train._ It's _because_ I was thinking of him that I was going to be prepared.

"I'm going to be a Career to make sure that I do win!" I was confused by the situation. He was my best friend, so shouldn't he support me? He laughs at that statement, confusing me more.

"A Career? We're from District 5 Avani! Careers are from 1, 2, and 4!" By now I was furious and depressed.

"I'm going to be a Career, and you are going to watch me win."

My flashback ends because of the Peacekeepers barging into the room. They grab my upper arms and basically drag me out.

"I'm not gonna run you idiots!" My tone of voice held a subtle threat that only made them grip tighter. I jerked my arms free and actually beat them to the train. I caught a glimpse of Fray going in before me. He looked scared yet determind. How was I suppose to kill me best friend?


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Everything is bold(but the authors note) because any time I saved it and everything wasn't bold, it would delete everything I wrote. It got hecka annoying so I just gave up and made everything bold._

**The Games Through a Career**

**Chapter 2**

**Fray made a point of ignoring me the whole train ride. Occasionally I would throw a question at him, but nothing I said made him address me, he didn't even look at me. It's not like I expected us to be all lovey dovey friendship like, we hadn't been best friends for years. Once Fray had realized I was serious about training for the Hunger Games, he claimed he didn't know me and hasn't spoken to me since.**

**The ride to the Capitol was short, and I used basically every minute to kiss up to my mentor and Cerius. My mentor seemed only interested in Fray, though he had his own mentor, so I gave up on her and concentrated on Cerius.**

**"So, Avani, you seem really eager!" Cerius' perky and exagerated voice irritated me, but what's the point in showing that?**

**My smile was dazzling, I hope anyway. "Well, why wouldn't I want to meet the famous Cerius Hockle? You do so well at the reaping each year, far better than any one else."**

**"Why thankyou! Might I ask, what are you most excited about?" He basically jumped up and down in his seat, and guess what. He clapped. He actually clapped.**

**"Nothing in particular, I mean, just the whole experience. If I hadn't been picked I would've voluntered." I was slathering the compliments on thick.**

**"I like it! Spunk, that's what you've got! But, why so eager? Sadly most aren't..." He gave a pouty face at the end, making his purple tinted lips stick out on his green tatooed skin. But, since he asked, time to give 'em the sob story.**

**I started to rub my arms and looked down and around as if I was nervous.**

**"Well, umm, my parents, they don't take care of me much. Don't really even pay attention to me. I have to work after school, to pay for my own meals. I've always wished they would just say they were proud of me, just once." I make my voice crack at the end of the sentence. Cerius put his hands to his mouth, then put one hand on my knee. I'm sure he meant it to be a comforting gesture, but it made my skin crawl.**

**"But you know who they always say good job to? The victors. Always the victors. And its people they barely know! Only from the interviews during the Games. But do they say it to their daughter?" I cry slightly at this, covering my face with my hands. After a few seconds, I wiped away tears that didn't exist, and sniffled.**

**"So, my plan is that if I win the Hunger Games, I'll bring honor to my family, and they'll be proud of me." I smile getnly, like I'm embaressed to be admitting this. Cerius nods encouragingly.**

**"Mind if we don't tell anyone about my... episode? I'm going for a strong and silent angle. This won't help." I modestly look down and cross my arms, trying to hide myself.**

**"No, No! I wouldn't do such a thing! Strong and silent, hiding your shy side! I love it! Wouldn't want to ruin it for the rest of Panem!" Cerius winks, trying to lighten the mood I guess, but his freakishly long purple eyelashes kinda took away from the gesture.**

**Once we were off the train and heading to the training center I worried that Fray would go telling all the other tributes I was crying about my parents, but that just didn't seem like him. Cerius led us to our floor, where we had a few minutes before we met our stylists. I was shocked when Fray pulled me aside.**

**"What the hell was that?" His frantic whisper almost made me feel bad.**

**"I'm taking steps to win." I said slowly and clearly. His head shook in a disappointed gesture.**

**"I don't get you anymore." I was about to ask him what he meant but Cerius called us over. I wanted to make things right, but how was I suppose to fix 6 years of problems in 3 days?**


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Sorry its taken me so long to update this story, though I don't know how many people are actually reading it, but I'm really busy nowadays and i'm working on another Hunger Games based story as well, so just be patient and please review! It'll help me stay focused and motivated! :D Oh, also, I'm making a change. Fray and Avani are from district 7, not 5. It just works better with the story._

The Games Through a Career

Chapter 3

My prep team is hideous, and they consider me to be a doll in need of a makeover. It takes several hours for the prep team to declare me as looking 'ok' enough to be in the presence of my stylist, Kavee. My stylist has an accent, and I try to be as nice as possible towards him, but when he tries to die my hair green and friz it up to look like a tree, I lose it. "No way in hell your doing that." Kavee blushes and then he sighs like he's talking to an arrogant three year old. "Me and Shanai designed this outfit and you will be wearing it." His voice rose and fell several times during that 12 word sentence.

I looked in the mirror at my out fit. I was in what resembled a bikini (ugh) and every part of my body except my face was tinted brown. This was going south fast. How was the crowd suppose to remember me looking like this? I tried to brush the brown stuff off my skin and the prep team immediatly tried to stop me, but I hopped out of their reach. "If this is permanent I swear..." I trailed off, letting their imagination get the better of them.

I glanced in the mirror. "I'm from district 7, so why can't you make me mother nature or something?" Kavee suddenly looked curious instead of angry. "Mother nature..." He sounded like he was asking a question. "Get that hideous brown stuff off her skin while I consult with Shanai about my new idea!" Usually I would've been mad at him for taking credit for my idea, but as long he went with it, I was fine.

An hour or so later, I look in the mirror to see that my hair is straight and entwined with ivy, the kind you see on old buildings. My skin is simply darker than usual, suggesting I'm in the sun alot like plants. I have on a dress that looks to be made of giant leaves, though the material is as soft as silk. There's only one sleeve, and the dress stops about 6 inches above my knees. It hugs my body and shows off my curves. The rest of my skin has all types of flowers and plants drawn on including vines, stems, leaves, branches, and flowers intertwining. Most of the colors consist of gold, blue, an earthy green, bright yellow, and hot pink.

This is the kind of thing me and Fray used to laugh about, because honestly, it was so rediculous to be wearing something like this. All the colors and just the theme made it laughable. But I did look beautiful, and the crowd would love it. Hopefully.

"I wonder what kind of costume Fray is being forced to wear..." I mumble to myself. And I find out when we meet up at the chariot. Fray's costume is alot like mine, with the ivy in his hair, the dark skin, the designs on his arms. The catch is, they seem to have gone with a caveman theme. That's what me and Fray would call it. Where I have a dress of leaves, he has incredibly tight shorts made of leaves. The rest of him is bear. This will go well with the crowd, because he's quite muscular.

I struggle to keep a straight face when I say to him, "Comfortable?" Even though he seems to hate me, he still whispers back a playful, "Certain places on a man should never have to endure this torture." We both started to smile, but he immediatlely took on a stony expression and turned away. That's when I remembered that we weren't friends anymore. In fact, we were now enemies.

We were told to mount our chariots, and in a minute ours lurched foward. I'm sure we made an impression on the crowd. I'm not sure if it was a big enough impression though. I spent the entire ride waving and blowing kisses to the crowd. Fray spent the whole time scowling. If he was uncomfortable because of the pants or whether it was a strategy, I don't know.

Dinner was disturbingly boring. Fray only answered yes or no questions, and sometimes he'd snap at something I said. Mainly if I was talking about the arena. I started to talk about strategies, and that's when Fray slammed down his glass and abrubtly left the table.

"Is there a stick up his a-hole or is he always like this?" My 34 year old mentor Cloe was always complaining. I don't know why she did, maybe something from her hunger games. Or maybe because she just always wanted her way. "Sounds like your the one with a stick up your ass." I grumbled to myself. Why did she have to go sticking her nose in other people's business?

"Watch what you say to me." Cloe said in a cheery voice with a smile. She took a sip of her wine and smiled more. The threat was there though. I could kiss up to Cloe, or she could just leave me to die in the arena with no advice and no silver parachutes. My eyes rolled and I stood up. "I'm going to bed. Good night."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4  
>Day 1 of training:<strong>

"All right, listen up! As you all know, you have 3 days to train. You can move from station to station as you choose. Combat between tributes is prohibited. There are sparring partners at weapon stations if needed. You may want to go straight to weapon training, but don't ignore the other stations, all offer good knowledge for any arena. What stations you choose could be the difference between life and death, so choose wisely." The man who had spoken walked off to the camouflage station. He was big and burly, with skin that was tinted different colors all over. Dark and light colors, natural colors. There was an assortment of different trees and shrubbery behind him, and as I watched he took a few steps back into the plants. I could no longer see him. I then made a mental note to visit his station.

My mentor wasn't talking to me. All she did was complain, so I had no help coming up with a tactic. But, my goal was to become a career, wasn't it? First thing to do, impress them. I looked around the room for the people with the numbers 1, 2, and 4 on their backs. I spotted Fray who had wandered over to the knots station, and he glanced back at me with a sad expression on his face, then started talking to the station manager with a smile.

I stopped. What did that even mean, that glance back at me? Whatever. All that mattered now was becoming a career. And to do that, I needed to show off my strength. I started towards the spear throwing station, where someone from district 5 and 8 were at (and failing). I planned on making a bit of a scene, to grab the careers' attention, and then show them my spear throwing skills. I made my own spears back at home; I threw axes pretty well, but I knew it was more likely to find a spear than an axe in the arena so I made and learned how to throw spears. I started imagining how this was going to happen as I walked over to the station. I was so zoned out that I _almost _jumped when someone grabbed my arm.

I would have attacked the person, but the grip they had on my arm was gentle. I was halfway to the station and I thought about shrugging off the person and keep walking, but decided against it. I turned around with a glare on my face to find Fray looking at me with a concerned expression. I refused to talk first. "Avani, please, don't do this. Don't team up with them, they are back stabbers. Team up with anyone but the careers. Please." He was still holding my upper arm, but his grip was loose. He looked genuinely concerned. But the time to convince me not to had passed years ago. I shrugged off his hand without a word.

I don't know why, but I didn't go to the spear station. I didn't show off to the careers. Instead, I found myself visiting the camouflage, edible plants, and fire building stations that day in training.

* * *

><p>Fray pressed the button in the fancy elevator that would bring him to his floor. He was talking with the girls from district 11 and 3. He had made alliances with the both of them, and he was trying to schmooze them. The girl from district 3 was kind of quiet and gave off a violent vibe. She was a risk, but she was a good ally to make, fighting wise. She was 16 and deadly with hand to hand combat. But she was warming up to Fray, his good looks and charm were nice to have. The girl from district 11 was 14, and knew a lot about edible plants. Yet again a beneficial ally to have. She was very bubbly, and has clung to Fray ever since she saw his expression when he was talking to Avani.<p>

_Avani._ He thought. _Why are you doing this?_ He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice that Jasmine, the girl from district 3, had left the elevator until Willow, the one from district 11, spoke up. "Who was the girl you grabbed by the arm today?" Fray chuckled. "That was Avani, my stubborn best friend." He said. Willow frowned and looked down. "She didn't act like your best friend." "Yeah, well, she doesn't consider me to be. She thinks I stopped being her best friend a while ago. But you can't just stop being someones friend. I've always been there for her, whether she's known it or not. And now she's got some stupid idea about joining the careers and I can't seem to get her to stop trying."

"That must really suck." Willow continued. "Especially since there can only be one victor... I'm guessing you want her to win, huh?" Fray looked down at Willow with a sad expression. "I'm sorry Willow, I'm here complaining about my friend dyeing when you are probably scared to death." He knelt in front of her. Willow had been chipper all day, happy as could be, but now she was getting teary eyed. "No, no I'm fine. I'll be fine." She covered her face and wiped away her tears, and when she looked back at him again, she was all smiles. Not a tear in sight. The elevator dinged, showing that they had reached level 7 and Fray glanced at the open elevator doors. "Willow, would you like me to stay with you until you get to your floor?" He questioned.

"No, I'm fine, but thank you for the offer." She smiled. He frowned. "All right, if you say so. See you tomorrow." Fray stood up and started to walk out of the elevator, but Willow grabbed his wrist and said, "Wait!" Fray turned around with a questioning gaze to find himself being hugged by the 14-year-old. He didn't want to hug her back, he didn't want to get too close, but this girl had no one now. She needed someone to help her, until her inevitable death. There was no way she was going to survive the games. So, Fray decided to hug her back, to hug her as if she were the little sister he never had. To give in, give her a sense of comfort and protection, while at the same time further breaking his heart.


End file.
